Secretary of the Department of Agriculture became an official Cabinet position on February 9, 1889. The first person to take the oath was a former Missouri state representative and lieutenant governor, Norman Jay Colman of St. Louis.
He served less than a month, since President S. Grover Cleveland's term was ending on March 4, 1889. Do you suppose it was long enough to qualify for a pension? Actually, Mr. Colman was Commissioner of Agriculture during the entire Cleveland Administration (first) and he expanded the work of the department.
Since 1949, the American Nursery and Landscape Association has honored significant horticultural/nursery research via its Norman Jay Colman Award. Colman was a nurseryman and published Colman's Rural World magazine for 50 years. During his tenure in Washington, he promoted the commercial cultivation of medicinal plants, including rhubarb, licorice (that's a plant?), arnica, belladona, digitalis, poppy, ginger, cinchona, vanilla, jalap and sarsaparilla. This information is from page19 of Historical Sketch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by Charles Howard Greathouse, published by Government Printing Office in 1909. You can find it via Google Books. Colman also implemented the Agricultural Experiment Stations concept.which was instituted by the Hatch Act of 1887.
He served less than a month, since President S. Grover Cleveland's term was ending on March 4, 1889. Do you suppose it was long enough to qualify for a pension? Actually, Mr. Colman was Commissioner of Agriculture during the entire Cleveland Administration (first) and he expanded the work of the department.
Since 1949, the American Nursery and Landscape Association has honored significant horticultural/nursery research via its Norman Jay Colman Award. Colman was a nurseryman and published Colman's Rural World magazine for 50 years. During his tenure in Washington, he promoted the commercial cultivation of medicinal plants, including rhubarb, licorice (that's a plant?), arnica, belladona, digitalis, poppy, ginger, cinchona, vanilla, jalap and sarsaparilla. This information is from page19 of Historical Sketch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by Charles Howard Greathouse, published by Government Printing Office in 1909. You can find it via Google Books. Colman also implemented the Agricultural Experiment Stations concept.which was instituted by the Hatch Act of 1887.